--- title: Manly Men: Classic American Tough Guys, Seen Through LIFE's Lens description: LIFE pays tribute to that changeable male ideal: the American tough guy. canonical: https://time.com/3878782/super-bowl-manly-men-and-american-tough-guys-photos/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-01-28T22:33:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:35.096Z og:title: Manly Men: Classic American Tough Guys, Seen Through LIFE's Lens og:description: LIFE pays tribute to that changeable male ideal: the American tough guy. og:url: https://time.com/3878782/super-bowl-manly-men-and-american-tough-guys-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438db94407c8257f/69884b1f8e06017ac345ff3f/140127-1949-kirk-douglas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Kirk Douglas 1949 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Manly Men: Classic American Tough Guys, Seen Through LIFE's Lens twitter:description: LIFE pays tribute to that changeable male ideal: the American tough guy. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438db94407c8257f/69884b1f8e06017ac345ff3f/140127-1949-kirk-douglas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Manly Men: Classic American Tough Guys, Seen Through LIFE's Lens by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jan 28, 2014 10:33 PM UTC  Kirk Douglas, 1949. Kirk Douglas, 1949.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jan 28, 2014 10:33 PM UTC Once again, football season is upon us, and once again, the occasion brings with it all the marketing mayhem, fan frenzy and trash-talking that sports are so often heir to. Pro football is unique among American sports due to its sheer, outsized spectacle. It’s louder than baseball, brasher than basketball, and more routinely violent than the phenomenally physical sport of NHL hockey and the high-speed lunacy of [NASCAR](http://www.nascar.com/en%5Fus/sprint-cup-series.html). In fact, of all the major sports in North America, football is arguably the one that brings out whatever vestiges of machismo might be lurking in even the most seemingly mild of fans. Football, after all, is for manly men. But there are many types of toughness. Mental toughness (Jackie Robinson); quiet toughness (Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper); gritty toughness (a weary, determined American Marine); crazy, spasmodic toughness (Cagney’s sociopath, Cody Jarrett, in _White Heat_); run-right-over-you toughness (Jim Brown); and on and on. Here, LIFE.com offers a look back at some of the iconic faces and personalities that, in their own time and in their own chosen pursuit, were tough enough to answer that age-old question: _Who’s the man?_ ---  Actor John Garfield studies the script for the movie They Made Me a Criminal. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  An American Marine peers over his shoulder during the final days of fighting to wrest the island of Saipan from Japanese troops, 1944. W. Eugene Smith—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Decorated WWII veteran -- and Oscar winner -- James Stewart, home from the war, 1945. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Kirk Douglas, 1949. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Texas cowboy Clarence Hailey "C.H." Long, Jr., 1949. Leonard McCombe—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Gary Cooper, 1949. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  James Cagney in the famous climactic scene from White Heat. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Marlon Brando on the set of The Men, 1949. Ed Clark—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Jackie Robinson during filming of his own biopic in 1950. J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Gregory Peck, 1950. W. Eugene Smith—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Humphrey Bogart of the set of The African Queen, 1951. Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Rocky Marciano, the only heavyweight champ to retire undefeated, 1951. Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Ernest Hemingway, Cuba, 1952. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Spencer Tracy, 1955. J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Mickey Mantle, 1956. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Project Mercury astronauts at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia: (top, left to right) Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper; (bottom left to right) Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, 1959. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Burt Lancaster at Dodger Stadium during Game 3 of the 1959 World Series in Los Angeles. Grey Villet—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Frank Sinatra, 1961. Leonard McCombe—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Steve McQueen rests in the midst of a long-distance motorcycle race, 1963. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Muhammad Ali after defeating Cleveland Williams in Houston, Texas, to retain the heavyweight crown, November 1966. Bob Gomel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  John Wayne in 1969. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Former pro football great and actor Jim Brown in 1969. Henry Groskinsky—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Johnny Cash in 1969. MIchael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson relaxing at home in Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Clint Eastwood on the set of Dirty Harry, 1971. Bill Eppridge—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3878782/super-bowl-manly-men-and-american-tough-guys-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3878782/super-bowl-manly-men-and-american-tough-guys-photos/"},"headline":"Manly Men: Classic American Tough Guys, Seen Through LIFE's Lens","datePublished":"2014-01-28T22:33:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:35.096Z","description":"LIFE pays tribute to that changeable male ideal: the American tough guy.","url":"https://time.com/3878782/super-bowl-manly-men-and-american-tough-guys-photos/","keywords":["celebrity","movies","Super Bowl","Steve McQueen","frank sinatra","Ben Cosgrove","Liz Ronk","Muhammad Ali"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438db94407c8257f/69884b1f8e06017ac345ff3f/140127-1949-kirk-douglas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt438db94407c8257f/69884b1f8e06017ac345ff3f/140127-1949-kirk-douglas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kirk Douglas 1949","caption":"Kirk Douglas, 1949.","creditText":"Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrity/","name":"celebrity"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3878782/super-bowl-manly-men-and-american-tough-guys-photos/","name":"Manly Men: Classic American Tough Guys, Seen Through LIFE's Lens"}}]}] ```